Pre-State of the Union Hardball featured 6 Republicans, 1 Democrat

The February 2 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, which devoted the entire hour to discussing President Bush's State of the Union address, featured six Republican officials and pundits and one Democratic pundit.

White House Communications Director Nicole Devenish, Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) each appeared for solo interviews. Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham and MSNBC host and former Representative Joe Scarborough (R-FL) joined host Chris Matthews on a panel with Newsweek chief political correspondent and NBC News political analyst Howard Fineman and NBC News White House correspondent David Gregory. Actor and Bush supporter Ron Silver appeared opposite Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen.

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The New York Times was forced to issue two corrections after relying on Capitol Hill anonymous sourcing for its flawed report on emails from former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Clinton debacle is the latest example of why the media should be careful when relying on leaks from partisan congressional sources -- this is far from the first time journalists who did have been burned.

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